


Dream On

by LoveGeek15



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chlonath Week, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Ironically, Sleepy Cuddles, Slightly aged-up, bumped the rating because curse words :P, but they have their moments, chlonath, kinda angsty, they're in denial
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-08-31 23:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20248423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveGeek15/pseuds/LoveGeek15
Summary: Chloe and Nathaniel are tired and out of the right state of mind to make conscious decisions





	1. hold me close

**Author's Note:**

> Some context of what their situation is:
> 
> One night, Alix challenged everyone on who can stay up the longest watching old movies. Chloe and Nathaniel were talking the whole night and eventually ended up winning (and sleeping next to each other). They can't sleep after that night, becoming more and more irritated by the day.
> 
> You can probably guess why ;)

“Are you okay, Chloe? You look terrible.”

“Thanks, Alya.”

“No seriously, you aren’t normally like this, always so tired. When was the last time you got like, a full night’s sleep?”

They walked into the elevator, pressing the button for Chloe’s apartment floor.

It’s not until the elevator door opens when Chloe shrugs, saying, “I’m not really sure. I just haven’t been sleeping as much. I like, stare at the ceiling.”

“Oh.” Chloe gets out of the elevator as Alya presses a button to the floor beneath them. “Well, hope you get over your insomnia.”

Chloe unlocks her apartment door. “I do not have insomnia.”

“Those are the symptoms of insomnia, Chloe!” Alya shouts as the elevator doors close.

…

Alix grabs her skateboard and her wallet. She shouts, “Hey, I’m going out for a bit!”

He shouts back, “Where to?” Nathaniel furrows his brows and erases the left eye of a sketch.

“Skatepark!”

He leans back on his chair and looks out at his roommate. “Again?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes again. Need to blow off some steam.”

“Make sure you’re back by eight!”

“You’re not my mom!” She slams the door.

…

She sat in front of her computer, scrolling through the many unopened emails, scanning for important ones. She finds one from her father, a party next weekend for business matters. She shoots a quick ‘maybe’ and glances at her alarm clock. 10:45 p.m.

Sighing, she got up and rummaged through her backpack for any homework she could probably get done. An hour and a half-complete assignment later, she still can’t fall asleep. Groaning, she organizes her desk once more before turning off her desk lamp and throwing herself under the covers.

Picking up her phone, she scrolls through her feed and eventually reaches ‘You’re all caught up’ which has been happening a lot lately.

She sets down her phone and tries closing her eyes and breathing slowly. But that doesn’t work either.

She looks back at the clock. 12:14 a.m.

‘_I do not have insomnia_.’

She gets up from bed and walks into the brightly lit kitchen and pours a glass of milk, warming it for about 30 seconds and mixing it a bit before drinking it. She swears she saw this tip somewhere online.

…

He stares at his doodle filled page in his sketchbook.

‘_Did Alix come back yet_?’

He glances into her room and surely enough, her window is open and a passed out Alix upside down on her bed. Shaking his head, he turns off her lights and closes her door. He immediately sits on his bed.

He knows he has insomnia, but he already took his pills for them. So why can’t he sleep yet?

He glances at his digital clock. 11:59 p.m.

Sighing, he slowly sinks under his covers and stares at the ceiling. He closes his eyes.

The next time he opens them, he turns to his clock. 12:18 a.m. At least he slept for 19 minutes.

He can feel the sleep on his eyes as he slowly gets out of his bed and walk mindlessly into the living area of the apartment. He rubs his eyes and sits on the couch before he hears a knock on his door.

…

‘_What am I doing_’

…

He stands up and trudges to his door, reluctant on opening it.

“Who could possibly be awake this late?” he whispers to himself.

He slowly opens the door. On the other side, he sees a sleep-deprived Chloe Bourgeois, holding a mug of milk in her right hand, wearing her yellow and white pajamas.

They stare at each other for a few minutes before he steps aside, letting her into his apartment. She walks over to one of his kitchen stools and sits on one, crossing one hand and holding out the cup in the other. He leans forward on the counter in front of her, watching her as she stares off into space.

He looks at her cup.

“What are you drinking?”

Without looking at him, she answers, “Warm milk. Makes you sleepy.”

“Is it working?”

“No.”

He smiles a bit and fiddles with his fingers. Her hair’s down for once. Small strands are misplaced, some sticking to her right cheek.

“Do you want to watch something on TV?”

She stays silent before she blinks and finally turns to him. Then to the TV. Then back. She slowly finishes her milk.

She sighs.

“Sure.”

They both get up and walk over to the couch, not bothering about how close they are. They sit down together, Nathaniel grabbing the remote and turning it on. He flips through a few channels before landing on a movie with light and soft music. As the movie plays along, their breathing slows substantially, their eyes feeling heavier as they try to finish. Her head droops down onto the redhead’s shoulder, her eyes giving up on her. Not long after, his head begins to lean onto her soft hair. The last thing he sees is a lady in a yellow dress singing and dancing with a man near a lamppost. The time is 1:05 a.m.

…

1:30 a.m.:

Chloe wraps her arms around Nathaniel’s left arm.

…

2:45 a.m.:

Nathaniel wraps his right arm around Chloe’s waist.

…

Sometime around 3-5 a.m.:

Both lay in a more comfortable position. Nathaniel’s arm is still wrapped around her stomach, but they’re laying on their backs, facing the TV. His leg is hugging hers.


	2. nothing happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's easier to forget than to forgive (and why would you?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love four day weekends T-T

He breathed in the scent of cherry citrus. He only knew one person that used that perfume. Slowly, he tried lifting his heavy eyelids to only shut them tighter from the bright morning light. His upper arm is numb. If he remembered last night correctly, that weight is Chloe Bourgeois. And she’s in his living room.

For some reason, he doesn’t want to let go. He makes a thousand excuses, saying he’s just cold or even worse — lonely. He reaches for the remote, trying his best to keep as still as possible. As he turned on the TV, she stirred.

…

Quiet noises rang through her ears as she came into consciousness. The curtain barely covered the light coming through the window. She was leaning on someone. Nathaniel? He held her hand, arm resting on her body.

He’s awake, she thought.

…

He was watching the early morning news, something he thought he’d never do again.

“What are you watching?”

He froze at the sudden, raspy voice.

He coughed, suddenly forgetting how to speak. “Um. It’s just the, uh, the news.”

She hummed in response. 

He watched her breathe and blink slowly. She was as calm as he was, despite their position. No wonder he felt so cold when she let go, stretching and yawning obnoxiously loud.

She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

He shrugged, “Dunno.” His eyes followed her as they turn to the kitchen clock. Their eyes widened when they saw the time.

7:29 A.M.

She whispered to him, still staring at the clock. “I’m I seeing things or is it really 7:30?”

He shook his head. “Nope, it’s really 7:30.”

Which was a surprise for both of them. This is the earliest they’ve woken up in days. They turned to each other, speechless.

…

She broke the eye-contact. Was she blushing?

“Um,” she got up from the couch and backed away towards his door. “I gotta go now. Thanks. For last night?”

“Yeah.” He walked over to the door. He can’t tell if it’s to close it or to see her face up close before she’s gone. “Of course.”

She averts her eyes. He can barely hear her say, “Yeah.”

He watched her open her apartment door and look once more at him before she closed it. He managed to get a small wave goodbye from her before clicking the door closed. And even though she can’t see him, he waved back anyway.

…

Once back safely into her bedroom, she sighed in relief and slowly slid down her door before plopping on the floor.

_ Well that was awkward. _

She closed her eyes, trying to slow her rapid heartbeats. She pressed her hands to her cheeks. A small smile forces itself onto her face as she replayed the feeling of him holding her in his arms.

…

Alya walked into Criminal Justice class expecting Chloe to be an hour late, as per usual these days. And boy was she surprised to see her, prepped and ready for the lecture in her seat, 10 minutes early.

“Chloe?”

The blonde looked up from her phone. “That’s me.”

“Wow.” She plopped her bag next to her seat and got her notes ready, all while looking at her friend. 

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look so surprised, Cesaire. They’ll think I committed a crime.”

The blogger laughed, shaking her head. “Well  _ someone _ ’s in a good mood.”

She rolled her eyes, returning her focus to her phone. “Yeah, right. I guess I just… finally got some sleep.”

…

“Chloe! Help me with some of these!”

Alya watched her spin in circles in her newly bought dress, a light-pink dress with outlines of fruits at the hem.

“Whatever you took last night must’ve been a miracle to find, huh?”

She picked up a few bags from her friend’s hands. She shrugged, “I guess?”

“You totally looked through WebMD, didn’t you?”

They walked into the apartment building, shopping bags in hand. She laughed, “STOP, I would never do such a thing!”

…

“Wow, Nathaniel! This looks gorgeous!”

He jumped at the sudden voice oh his roommate as they scanned his latest sketch. He swiped it from her hands. “Thanks, Alix.”

“This is one of the better pieces I’ve seen this entire week, Nath!”

He shrugged. “I guess I finally got some sleep.”

…

Unlocking their apartment, Alix threw her satchel at the wall. Nathaniel carefully placed their groceries onto the counter. 

She searched through the fridge. “Where’s that extra energy juice you used today? ‘Cause I need some of that for tomorrow’s competition.”

Opening a soda can, Nathaniel flopped onto the couch and switched the TV on. “I already told you, I didn’t use or drink anything.”

She sat at the end of the couch and threw her legs onto his. “Yeah, and I’m six foot.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious.”

“Come on! There must’ve been  _ something _ to get you in the groove. Hey, I’m talking to you.”

He sighed and turned to her, crossing his arms.

“You’ve been down in the dumps for a long time ‘til today.”

“Down in the dumps?”

She nodded. “Yeah you’ve been, like… not there. Spaced out. Lost from the moment, you know?”

Nathaniel blinked at his best friends concerned face.

“I didn’t do drugs.”

She punched him and laughed. “Fine! Then what?”

He frowned and rubbed his sore arm.

Alix sighed and turned back to the TV. “Look, you don’t have to tell me.”

“No, it’s really nothing. It’s just-” He buried his hands in his hair. “It’s… complicated.”


	3. denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the events of the past do not affect the future... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't written anything in a long time, but i do think i have the premise of the next chapter prepped. no promises tho hehe

Alya stretched her arms above her as Chloe unlocked her apartment. Sighing, Chloe unpacked and organized her pantry as the blogger flopped onto her couch and flipped on the TV.

The blonde looked over her shoulder and frowned. “Aren’t you going to stay with Nino tonight? Shouldn’t you be,” she shrugged, “I dunno, driving there before he wonders where you are?”

“I already told him I’ll be a little late.” She turned and crossed her arms on the couch. “So what magical cure did you use to fix your insomnia?”

She rolled her eyes as she stocked some vegetables into a crate. “Ugh! It’s _ not _ insomnia.”

Chloe could practically feel her raised eyebrow on her back. She stomps her foot. “_ It’s not! _”

Behind her, she hears Alya spin and drop onto the couch. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

She grumbled into her fridge. “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous”

…

It’s a Thursday night in their university apartments. Alya finally called out a “goodnight” and “get some rest” to Chloe; to which she responded over a mouth-full of chips to “don’t forget about protection”. They laughed before saying a final “_ BYE _ ” and” _ LEAVE _” and the brunette closing the door behind her.

Nino was already leaning on the sidewall on his phone as she closed the door. “Why did you call me here again?”

“Oh, I didn’t want you to be lonely at home while I hatch my wonderful plan.”

The corner of his mouth lifted as he sighed. “Trying to get Chloe and Nathaniel together? Hasn’t playing cupid tired you yet?”

She booped his nose. “Getting Marinette and Adrien together definitely was a challenge, but these two. It’s like enemies to lovers.” She chuckled and grinned up at him as she gripped on Nathaniel’s door handle. “They’re so obviously in denial, how can I _ not _?”

…

Once she entered, Alya beelined for the red-head’s door, Nino a few paces behind. He dropped next to Alix and leaned his head on the back of the couch.

Shoving another mouthful of chinese take-out, Alix glanced at the DJ. “Match-maker?”

Sighing, he grabbed the extra pair of chopsticks and a few noodles, looking straight forward. “You know it.”

…

Slowly drawing over another line, Nathaniel barely noticed the Ladyblogger walking into the room. “Busy working as always.”

He jumped from his seat, throwing his pen in the air in the process. They both tracked it’s path to the ground, a simple _ clack _ ringing into their ears. 

He looked up, unimpressed. “What do you want.”

She crouched down and handed him his pen. She nervously laughed. “Sorry. I knocked on the door and heard you grunt, but you were still staring at your tablet, so I thought you were ‘in the zone’.”

He sighed and placed the pen in it’s stand. He shook his head as he folded his hands. “It’s fine. What’s on your mind?”

“Not a lot.” She leaned on the door frame. “Did you hear about the warm milk thing from Chloe? Cause Alix said you’ve been acting a lot less grumpier than usual.”

At the sound of the blonde’s name, Nathaniel’s face bleached, which definitely wasn’t the right reaction she was hoping to get. “Oh, u-uh,” he scrunched up and looked down, a few stray strands of hair covering his face. He reached to the back of his neck. “Yeah? I mean I heard you and Chloe talking about it in the hallway when I got back from school one day. So I wanted to try it out.”

She nodded carefully. “And? Did it work?”

He shrugged. “Sort of? Not really? It’s just milk.”

She raised an eyebrow and twisted her mouth. “Okay, seriously? Nothing?”

He raised his head. “What?”

“Okay, I’m just going to lay it out here.” She pushed off the wall and crossed her arms. “What’s going on with you and Chloe?” 

His body flinches, but his posture stayed the same. “What about her?”

“See!” She pointed at his face. “Why does her name make you cringe and pale? She did the exact same thing when I mentioned yours to her!”

He held his hands in front of him. “What does that have to do with anything?! We’re not even friends, Alya!”

She dropped her arms. “Are you serious right now.”

He nodded his head rapidly and covered his hands with his armpits. “Yes. Very serious.”

She spun around and rubbed her temples. “Unbelievable.”

He stood up and flailed his hands. Even after five years of knowing each other, he barely grew a few inches taller than the reporter. “What’s so unbelievable? I thought you knew this!”

“I thought you were just mad at her! And you have to admit, she’s _ trying _ to get better.”

He scoffed. “Okay, fine. I’ll give her that, but she’s… I don’t even know how to describe her! Annoying? Bossy? Impolite?”

She blinked and, after a few moments, nodded her head. “Okay, yeah, she’s most of those, but she’s not _ bossy _.” She mumbled to the side. “Anymore.”

He pointed his hand out. “See?”

She looked at him one last time before walking out of his room. She paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder. “I know you still hate Chloe, but consider talking to her. She’s changed a lot, and for the better.” She softly closed the door behind her.

He sighed and fell back onto his chair. He spun around to his desk and rested his head in his hands. 

_ Annoying? Bossy? Impolite? Imagine if she heard you say that to her face. _

He looked up at his sketch and glared at it. 

_She wouldn’t even care. _

His chest tightened at the thought. He wasn’t mad at her. And she hasn’t done anything wrong to him in a long time. 

_ What about this morning? Did any of that matter to you? _

He blinked back at the portrait sketch on his screen. He pulled his seat into the desk and grabbed his pen. It hovered over the delete button. 

He stared at her eyes. He could never get them right, especially when it’s just from his memory. How can someone have such sharp and soft eyes at the same time? He felt a dropping sensation in his stomach as his heart hallowed. 

He dropped his head and his pen onto the empty space beside his tablet. He gulped and scrunched into a ball as he stared at his bed. 

The only light illuminating the room was the glow of the tablet with a certain blonde neighbor from the early hours of the day.

It’s 10:45 pm.


	4. conscious unconscious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the devil and angel on your shoulders need to work something out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot what the premise I promised in the last chapter notes for this chapter. sO it probably has a different story line than what I originally planned skdjfhksj
> 
> ps: after the second chapter, it's all new content. not from my notebook. but a lot of the inspiration came from there :)

Except she didn’t get some rest. Far from it, actually. And though her body was screaming from exhaustion, Chloe just… couldn’t fall asleep.

She threw her head back. “Ugh! What is happening?” 

She turned to the clock on her living room wall. 

11:21 p.m.

She glared at it and tried closing her eyes. She slowly breathed in………… and breathed out, repeating it a couple times through. When she peeped one eye open, she realized only a minute passed.

Sighing, she stared blankly at the weird indents on the ceiling. She’s memorized a few spots that sorta looked like countries on a map, like Iceland or Madagascar. 

But only one thought remained on her mind.

_ I’m bored _ .

It was like a chant in her head.

_ I’m bored, I’m bored, I’m bored _ .

She shifted her body to reach for the remote, but paused. She scrutinized it, recognizing the buttons on its front looked exactly like-

_ Nope, _ her eyes widened,  _ Not going into that territory. _

But like the treacherous rebel her brain normally was, it remained on the subject—last night. 

“What happened last night?” she asked herself out loud. “How is it possible that you forgot what happened while sober?”

She stared at the remote. The memory of him changing to the news channel warmed her chest as a little smile made its way to her face. He was hugging her then. 

She blinked.

He.

_ Nathaniel. _

_ . . . _

“We aren’t really friends, are we?” she asked the abyss of her own home. She shook her head. “I’m definitely going crazy. Talking to myself. How pathetic.”

She sneered at a spot on the couch and grabbed the remote, shutting off the TV faster than you can say ‘bananas’.

She swung the remote between her fingers. “Two years of being neighbors and three years since graduating Lycée. What’s so special about him anyway?”

She glanced up at the opposite wall of the clock and saw a landscape of her favorite sunset, framed. She remembered Alix gave her that for her birthday (begrudgingly) last year. “I wonder if she printed out a painted picture or if she did it herself,” she commented that day, but she knew who made it. The redhead had a new set of inking pens the week following. He’s been getting out of his shell more as well. His works have been displayed in art galleries and shows. She’d seen a few and appreciated the subtle details he added into his pieces. 

“So… he’s famous? No,” she shook her head again, “that’s not him.”

He was always there for birthday parties (even parties she wasn’t invited in) and knew how to express himself through his work. He has a lot of really great friends that care about him and that he cares about. 

_ Am I one of those people? _ She thought to herself.  She couldn’t bear the idea of letting the room (metaphorically) echo her words back at her. Because of course she knew the answer.

She was just afraid of it.

…

Alya softly stomped her feet to the living room and forcefully landed next to Nino. She grumbled, “I can’t believe him.”

“Can’t believe who, babe?” He said, still staring at the screen and feeding himself another bite of Chinese food.

“Nathaniel. He says they’re not friends!”

“They’re not,” replied Alix as she reached for another serving.

She swiped the box from the pink-haired woman. “Hey!” she barked, “That’s mine!”

“Why aren’t they friends?”

She stood up and reached for the box, her body getting in the way of Nino’s sight and forcing him to stretch up to look over her. “Because she was a bitch to him before.”

“She was a bitch to everyone in this room and then some! He’s not special,  _ AND _ she’s been getting better! You’re sort of friends with her now too!”

“Yeah, well, that’s because we were forced to have classes for two years in University and we both don’t have other friends to go to and we bonded from there. But like you said, we’re only ‘sort-of-friends’. Now imagine Nathaniel, who hasn’t been in the same class as Chloe since third year Lycée and has only interacted with her in social gatherings and the like. There’s nothing for ‘friendship’ to build up upon.”

“Stop using air quotes, I can’t see the movie!” 

His girlfriend hit him upside the head and glared at him. 

He blinked up at her and shrugged forward. “Ow?!”

“Babe! This is a serious matter!”

“I know, but…” he sighed and stood up, grabbing her shoulders. “Listen. Maybe, and I’m saying this with a lot of fear,  _ maybe _ ,” he dropped his head to her level, “you should just, I dunno, let them figure this stuff out on their own?”

She raised an eyebrow incredulously. “What?”

“This cupid business you’re doing with Chloe and Nathaniel isn’t the same as Mari and Adrien.”

“I know that! You don’t think-!”

“I know, I know, calm down,” he gently pushed her down on the couch. “I’m just saying, maybe we need to give them space? Let them figure out their own feelings first, then maybe we can set them up. Maybe. Is that okay with you?”

Alya crossed her arms and shrunk into his chest. She sighed. “You’re right.”

“Plus,” Alix interrupted, “haven’t you only started shipping them since last month? They’re not lovesick idiots like… what’s their ship name? Adrinette?”

She nodded, a slow but proud smile adorning her features. “Yeah. I guess you’re right as well.”

Alix bumped her elbow on Nino’s shoulder. “We’re finally right for once, dude!”

“I know!” Nino laughed as he high-fived her.

“You guys are unbearable,” Alya rolled her eyes as she dragged her boyfriend across the living room. “Thanks for feeding him, Alix. Get some shuteye, alright?”

The shorter woman leaned on the door frame and waved. “After hearing the couple’s couple argument, I’m about ready to pass out. Night, dudes!”

…

When he heard Alix’s bedroom door close, he paused his music and unplugged his headphones. Once he heard Alya raise her voice, (he wasn’t quite in the state of mind to process sentences through thick walls), he scrambled for his phone and headphones, raising the volume enough where it didn’t scream into his ears but to drown them out. He knew what they were talking about. He didn’t want to hear the extension of the reporter’s reality check. So he drowned her out.

Naturally, as it was quite common these days, he glanced at his desk’s clock. 

11:40 p.m.

He was covered head to toe with his weighted blanket. In the rush for his phone, he turned off the monitor and jumped into bed. Guess he closed his eyes too, since the room was pitch black when he opened them. 

An uneasy churning in his stomach caused him to scrunch into a smaller ball all while the voice came back into his mind.

_ Annoying? Bossy? Impolite? Imagine if she heard you say that to her face.  _

He shook his head, covering his cheeks with his hands. 

_ No! I would never!  _

He threw his covers off and paced to his door.

_ Do you really believe that? _

“Yes,” he grumbled as the light from the kitchen temporarily blinds him. He bumped and leaned on the kitchen island, rubbing and blinking his eyes as he navigated his way to the front door.

The light in the hallway was even harsher as he shielded his eyes. Her front door seemed farther away than usual, but he eventually got there, stumbling as he knocked.

…

A thud broke the silence in the room.

She spun around and stared at the door.

. . .

She tried calming the thumping in her chest.

She didn’t want to get her hopes up.


	5. flirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i think the title is obivious :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm obligated to write now that I'm quarantined huh.

The redhead waited in pregnant silence as the bright stars in his vision faded. He was hoping that she wouldn’t be asleep at the late hour.

He fell forward as she opened her door. Luckily, he caught himself with the door frame. The downside (or was it? He wasn’t sure): his face was centimeters from hers.

He blinked away the last few stars when he noticed they haven’t moved… in a while. 

She didn’t blink; her eyes were blown wide. A few strands of hair stuck to her face. A few acne scars and sunspots decorated her face like the night sky as he thought to himself that she looked way prettier without her makeup on. And then her lips; oh her lips were only open a little, but he could feel every bated puff of breath on his chin. It felt like the world had stopped spinning for them.

Then her shoulders dropped as she tilted her head down and right. 

He leaned back and let out the breath he’d been holding.

She cleared her throat and tucked some hair behind her ear. “Nathaniel,” she said smoothly.

His licked his lips as he looked to his right. “Chloe.”

She lifted her chin and shifted her weight. “What are you doing here.”

He glanced at her, his heart sinking when she wasn’t looking at him. 

_ What am I doing here, _ he thought. _ To prove a point? To who? Alya? _

“Well?” She raised an eyebrow, her eyes drooping with tiredness. 

“U-uh,” he flinched. A breathless chuckle escaped him as he stared down at his hands. “I just, w-wanna just… talk?” he finished lamely.

Her eyes bore into him. “Talk?”

“Yeah, just catch up on each other. I mean besides that one night Alix and Alya planned, there’s still a lot to say, right?”

She dropped her shoulders again (when had they been tensed up?) and creased her eyebrows. “Are you okay, Nathaniel? Do you want some warm milk or...?”

“Uh, sure.” He made his way to her kitchen island and tried to smile. Calmly. “That’d be nice.”

She closed the door behind him.

…

_ OMGOMGOMGOMG _

She hoped he didn’t notice how shakey her hands were pouring the milk and sliding him his cup. 

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she nods. She still can’t make eye-contact with him! And they were already seated!

As he picked up his drink to take a sip, she felt her face with her opposite hand. 

_ Yep, you’re blushing. Stop that! _

She straightened her back and took a deep breath in and out, keeping her eyes closed. 

A little laugh rang in the room and she turned to her guest. His smile was small but his eyes sparkled with a joy one could describe as ... endearing? 

_ How do you describe eyes? Or smiles? _ She thought as she smiled back, raising her eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing, you just… you did that so suddenly.”

“Oh,” she leaned on the counter and tried covering her face with her hair, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No no! It was…” he was smiling but he stopped.

_Um excuse me, _what_ were you going to say!_ She felt her face warm at the thought.

The silence only stayed for a second before he looked behind her and coughed. “Uh, w-what’s that?”

She turned her head and smiled at her sunset. “A painting. Though I guess you already know that, huh, Picasso?”

“Ha ha, very funny. Who gave it to you?”

“Alix.”

He took another sip of his milk, nodding. “It‘s a good piece.”

She tilted her head towards him. “You would know, wouldn’t you.”

His gaze stayed on the painting as he held the cup in front of his face. He's totally trying to hide a smile. “What makes you say that?”

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes and poked his shoulder. “I know you were the one who painted it! I’m not stupid.” She flipped her hair.

He laughed. “I didn’t even sign it!”

“So you’re admitting that you painted it?”

“I said no such thing.”

“You know what, nevermind. We’re going nowhere in this conversation.”

He leaned forward into her vision. “Aww come on, I thought lawyers weren’t allowed to abandon their cases?”

“Not if they leave early enough.”

“Ouch.”

She smirked and leaned an elbow on the counter. “What, did you burn your tongue on the milk?” she asked innocently.

He shook his head, a laugh attempting to escape him as he finished his drink. He plopped the mug on the counter with a loud sigh. He turned to her with the smuggest smirk she’d ever seen from him. “I can take the heat.”

She leaned back and blinked speechlessly. 

…

_ Was that too much? _ He thought as the silence rolled on.

It was enough for him to poke fun at her major. But did she have to throw back that question? It was the perfect opportunity!

_ Oh geez, I spend too much time with Adrien these days. _

He waved an arm in front of his face. “Uh, Chlo-”

“Damn.”

Now it was his turn to blink at her. “What?”

“That was _ way _ too smooth.” She shook her head. “Even for you.”

“I’m going to try to take that as a compliment.”

“Whatever makes you sleep at night, Red,” she laughed as she stood up and grabbed his mug. “I’m washing these, so if you want, you can…” Her eyes met his for a brief moment before she focused on turning on the sink. “Leave, I guess. Or just flip on the TV. I don’t care.”

He decided to do none of that and sat quietly as she cleaned her cups. He blinked and pointed up. “Oh, I forgot. You left your mug at my place last night. Or two nights ago?”

She turned her head to the clock.

12:20 a.m.

“Oh. I guess it is,” she laughed. 

She placed the last cup on a drying rack and dried her hands. He followed her to her couch and sat beside her, keeping shorter than a meter’s distance between them. Smiling, he pointed out, “Hey, we have the same TV brand.”

She snorted. “It’s not that special. I got it out of convenience, that’s all.”

“That’s an insult to my TV.”

“And your bank account~” she singsonged. 

He shook his head. “You’re insufferable.”

“I try my best, Tomato-head.”

He glanced at her side profile as she flipped through the channels. He remembered seeing her in a few modeling posts at the beginning of his freshman year of university. What stopped her from modeling?

“Too much school work. I had to learn how to juggle my classes and take care of myself without Sabrina or Jean-whatever being there.”

_ Oh shit I said that out loud. Fix this! _

“O-oh, uh, congratulations?”

A smile flashed on her face like a camera. “Thanks.”

_ Okay, this is good? This is good! We are making! Conversation! Alright, keep it going. _

“What convinced you to leave your high life of being Mayor’s daughter? I thought you were going to try running.”

_ Yikes. _

She paused her clicking and dropped her gaze. Her eyebrows creased as she tightened her lip. “That was a foolish dream. My daddy was a good Mayor… sometimes. Sure, I got anything and everything that I wanted with a snap of my finger. But I loved the sense of justice Ladybug and Chat Noir carried with them. I helped them a few times and when we saved the day, I’d get this swelling pride in my chest that was so different from the emotions I’d felt before.” Her ice-like stare warmed when her eyes met his. 

He gulped as his heart rate quickened.

She sighed and continued clicking down on the remote. “That doesn’t make much sense, does it.”

“N-no! Not at all! It makes perfect sense!”

“Woah,” she laughed. “You don’t have to be so sarcastic, I get it.”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic, Chloe.”

Her head turned so fast, he was almost convinced she got whiplash. Her eyes bore into his skull as she waited for his response. 

He tilted his head down and bit his lip. “U-uh, I mean what I said. You’ve…” he glanced up at her. “You’ve changed, Chloe. For the better! Y-you smile genuinely a lot more. And you… have a lot more friends! Yeah, yeah and you-”

“I’m going to stop you there, Red,” she smiled as her hand made a vacancy on his shoulder. “But thank you. You’ve changed too. For the better,” she winked.

His heart did a traitorous flip as she exchanged her hand with her head when she finally found a channel to watch. 

As his heart rate matched his sleepy counterpart and his eyelids weighted down, he thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, Alya was right after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw i was so freaking proud of that 'i can take the heat' moment i had to like literally jump up and down in my room and scream to let it all out ksjdhfks


	6. awake and aware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as comfortable as uncomfortable can be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the title chapter is redundant and i dont care

It’s funny how the sun works. It may rise in the east and set in the west, but it almost never shines through a north facing window. 

So it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise to not feel a warm ray of sun on his back.  Or to feel a patch of hair in his face. And definitely not surprising to be instead feeling the warmth of another’s body, clinging onto his. 

But once he recognized her calming citrus scent, his mind, without warning, became fully aware of their position on her couch.

Her face was just a little bit above his, but really close to his. Her left hand supported her head with her other arm folded around his torso. Her right leg made a vacancy on his hip while her other... between his thighs.

With a sharp intake of breath, his face exploded red as a sudden impure thought entered his mind. Technically, he was also in a very intimate position: his head mere inches from hers and his left arm wrapped tightly around her waist. It was almost unbelievable, like a dream when another rush of cold air crashed into his back. 

He bit his lip, hoping that he wasn’t shaking so that he wouldn’t wake her up.  _ Yup, this definitely isn’t a dream. _

The air from her breathing nipped his chin as he gazed at her face. She took good care of her face, save for a few acne scars. This up close and he noticed her small eye bags.

He furrowed his eyebrows.  _ Has she been getting enough sleep? Probably not for a few days or a week at least. Why hasn’t she been sleeping? _

“Nathaniel.”

He blinked quickly, startled at her sudden whisper. When he noticed her eyes were still closed, he smiled. 

_ Is she dreaming about me? _

Her eyebrow twitched slightly. “Why the fuck do you have a banana jar. That won’t hold anything.”

His mouth stretched into a line.  _ Seriously. Is that what you’re dreaming about with me? _

“Don’t yell at me. Or else I’m gonna hit you.”

Nathaniel chuckled at that and rolled his eyes. With as much courage as he could muster, he whispered back, “I find that hard to believe.”

Her face stilled with little emotion, a sort of teasing anger being that. He couldn’t tell, but oh boy was it really silent. 

After a few seconds of quiet tension, her face morphed into a pout and she sighed. She said in a clearer whisper, “If I put the laundry basket away, will you stay for the night?”

His eyes widened at her tone.  _ Is she crying in her dream? _

He swallowed a lump in his throat. Did she normally talk in her sleep? Shaking his head mentally, he whispered back, “Only if you want me to.”

His right hand fidgeted with his hair as he waited in bated silence.  _ It’s not weird to talk with a sleep talker, right? She probably didn’t hear me anyway. Oh no, what if she did hear you? Maybe just pretend this didn’t happen. Yeah, pretend to be asleep! Perfect! _

Nodding to himself, he shut his eyes and focused on his breathing. It didn’t help that his heartbeat was racing like it was the last lap of the mile in Lycée. 

He was in the finale of relaxing his shoulders when he heard a faint giggle from in front of him.

“Pff, I knew you couldn’t get enough of me.”

His eyes shot open. She still looked tired, but from this angle and with the faint morning light that they had, she looked stunning. And calm. And pretty.  _ Wow, am I already running out of words? _

Her eyes were squinting as she smirked at him. “Do you know how clingy you are?”

He frowned, the magic fading just a little. “Says the person holding me with all their limbs.”

“I was just shifting around so that I’ll be comfortable from your grip, Nathaniel.”

He shrugged. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

She rolled her eyes at him then yawned before rubbing her eyes. He flinched at the sudden wave of air, but ended up yawning himself in the process. He glared playfully at her. “Hey, you can’t just yawn in front of me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Who made you boss?”

“I did. Did you know that you sleep talk?”

“I- no?” she blinked. “I was awake the whole time, what are you talking about?”

He nodded skeptically at her. “Oh really? What was the first thing you said this morning?”

Her shoulders shifted as she squinted. “What? How am I supposed to know?”

“Oh, so you don’t remember?” he smiled innocently.

“No,” she glared, “I-I think it was, um, ‘I’m gonna hit you?’”

“Nope,” he smiled, emphasizing the p with a pop. “Wait, what was the laundry basket thing then? Since you were conscious about what you were saying.”

“I… was trying..? Um, nevermind,” she shook her head, propping up slowly on her arm. 

“What? Come on, don’t be embarrassed. It’s just the two of us.”

And that’s when it settled in.

_ It’s just the two of us. _

Chloe glanced down at Nathaniel. 

She was suddenly aware of how close they were. 

His hand was still on her waist. His face was still close even though there was plenty of room for both of them on the couch. And his eyes were so sincere with concern and maybe playfulness. 

“I-” she started as she tried balancing herself. Instead, she pushed down on his side, causing him to curl up with an  _ oof _ and almost resulted in them crashing heads.

She pulled her arm away. Words spilled out her mouth, “Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

He strained a laugh and smiled, “It’s alright, Chloe. Just a bit surprising in the morning. Ow.”

“Sorry, whatever you said last time just… caught me off guard.”

He paused, his hand reaching up to itch his head. “Uh… oh.  _ Oh. _ ”

She nodded, “Yeah! I don’t know if you caught on or not.”

Nathaniel could only assume that his face was as pink as hers, maybe redder. The room became awkward again, as they avoided eye contact, unsure of what to do with their situation.

He bit the bullet. “I was serious about my answer, by the way.”

Her eyes met his. “What answer?”

His breath caught at the intensity of her eyes. “Wh-when you asked if I would stay the night if you put the laundry basket away?”

She chuckled at the last bit and moved her gaze to the floor behind him. A smile graced her face, a nice decoration to her already pink visage. If only he could ingrain this picture in his memory.

She lifted her chin, tapping on it and smiling mischievously. “Well, boss, I  _ do _ have some laundry to do.”


	7. laundry day (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nobody likes laundry on saturdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you saw that right, folks. part one of two. possibly. and also dont take the summary too seriously sjdfskjd (work on saturday? dont know her)

_ Those might have been the best and worst few hours of my life.  _

Two very uncomfortable hours after the experience, Nathaniel found himself waiting in none other than Chloe Bourgeois’s living room for her to sort out her… delicates by herself. In her own room.

Not wanting to relive those hours, he grabbed the remote and clicked on the TV. He decided to leave the channel on the news; they were having an interview with an animal shelter today and Rose was guest starring!

_ Maybe this’ll wash away the cringe. _

...

_ 2 hours earlier... _

…

When he and Chloe arrived at the laundry unit, they didn’t expect it to be this full so early in the morning. It was a narrow room: one side lined with single washers and the other side filled with stacked dryers with a wooden bench in the middle. The elder residents from the building were occupying most if not all of the bench’s space with not only their bodies but their baskets, too.

As if the walk going there was awkward enough, they had to take the furthest available washer and talk to one of the old ladies in there while sorting her clothes. It went something like this:

“My, what a lovely young couple!” said the old lady. “Don’t most of you do your laundry during the evening?”

Chloe turned her head and cringed (which almost made Nathaniel laugh if that one word didn’t sting like it should have). She grabbed a few colored shirts and threw them in the washer, laughing forcefully. “Normally I do, but I-er, we,” she motioned to the two of them, “got up early and decided, ‘why don’t we do them now?’”

_ It can’t hurt to play along, right? _ Nathaniel picked a random article of clothing and waved his hand. “Oh, yeah totally! There was a lot of…” he glanced at the hand holding the ‘random article of clothing’ and felt his face heat up.  _ She wears yellow bras? _ His eyes widened as he threw it into the washer, shaking the cursed hand behind him. His voice raised an octave. “ _ CLOTHES THAT NEEDED TO BE WASHED. _ ”

The old lady laughed as Chloe slapped her head. “Aww, you’re both so adorable!” 

The lady nudged the blonde, who was covering her face from either shame or embarrassment, and whispered in her ear. He couldn’t hear what the lady said, but it definitely was something more embarrassing. When she finished, Chloe laughed it off a bit too loud, waved her off, and pointed at him. In a loud sort of whisper, she glared at him and said the meanest insult he had ever heard: “You are  _ not _ a man!” 

His jaw dropped as his soul left his body.  _ Not a man?! _

With a turn of her head and a  _ hmph! _ , Chloe aggressively threw more clothes into the washer, catching the attention of the other patrons (excluding the old lady, who seemed to be enjoying this way too much). 

_ What did the lady say to her? _

He shook his head and reached into the basket. It was a surprisingly large shirt turned inside out. Before he could get a good look at the symbol in front, Chloe grabbed it out of his arms and threw it in. “Just let me handle separating the clothes by myself,” she grunted, adding a quieter last bit he couldn’t hear. 

Sighing, Nathaniel sat on the ground and rubbed his eyes.  _ This is a disaster! What the hell am I doing? _

“ _ Why _ are you sitting on the floor?” 

He glanced up at her. Her face was tense: tight lips, knotted eyebrows, and a glare that could cut glass. He flinched before deciding to stare at the wall instead. “Because there’s no room on the bench,  _ Chloe _ .”

“Whatever,” she said, flipping her hair, which also ended the conversation. 

A few minutes later, she turned on the machine and sat on it, swinging her legs side to side. One swing almost hit him, so he told her so.

She raised an eyebrow at him and swung at him again, this time he had to avoid it. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you  _ trying _ to give me brain damage?”

“Pff,” Chloe snickered, “Nah, I’m just messing with you, boss. Trying to lighten the mood a little, yknow?”

He dropped his head on his knees and crossed his arms over them. “Well, my head and I would like to stay intact, thanks.”

It was just the sound of the washer whirring for a few moments. She didn’t say anything back, which was worrying.  _ Was that the wrong approach? _

“Nathaniel?”

His brows tightened.  _ Does she normally say my full name? Why is it so quiet? Oh gosh, did I hurt her feelings or- _

“I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

_ Wait, what? _ He turned up at her. 

She was playing with the fabric of her pale yellow sweater, her face in a tight frown. “I guess the lady just got into my head.”

He propped his chin on his hand. “What did she say to you?”

She briefly looked at him before crossing her leg and turning to the other side. “I’d rather not say.”

Sighing as he got up, he leaned onto the washer and poked her shoulder, to which she turned to glare at him. “What did she say?”

“I’m not. Telling. You.”

“Well whatever she said made you hurt my feelings, so now I have to know.”

She tilted her head. “How did I hurt your feelings?”

“Let me demonstrate,” he stood straight up and coughed. He flipped his hair and jutted a finger at her. “ _ You _ are  _ not _ a man!”

She placed a hand on her chest and gasped. “Oh my god.”

He threw his hands in the air. “Wha- this like, literally happened five minutes ago!”

“Yeah well..” she hugged herself and shrugged. “Maybe you’re just insecure.”

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped in disbelief. Shaking his head, he raised his arms and scoffed sassily. “I’m done.”

“Done?”

“Yup,” he nodded, walking towards the door, “Done.”

“Wait-!” She pulled on his arm and dropped her head. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

He bit his lip and sympathetically rubbed her shoulder, all while looking left and right at the other old people in the room. He leaned in and whispered, “If you don’t want to say it, that’s fine, Chloe-”

“She said, ‘you’re lucky to have that man. He’s respectful and innocent,’ or something like that. I forgot. Old people, right?”

For a moment, he was flattered at the compliment. But then it hit him. “Wait a minute. I  _ am _ a man, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, I know you’re a ‘man’, boss,” she chuckled, air-quoting, “but not m-” She closed her mouth shut.

He tilted his head and grinned. “Not what? Is that  _ all _ she said?”

Her face turned crimson as she crossed her arms and avoided his gaze. “Nothing and yes, that’s all she said.”

His hand made a vacancy beside her as he tapped on his chin. “Are you sure? It sounded like you were about to say my-  _ Uuogh! _ ” She swung her fist into his stomach, effectively knocking him and the air out of him. 

He scrunched up like a ball on the ground. He heard her chuckle from above and groaned.

_ Note to self: don’t invade Chloe’s space when she’s flustered. _

"Now you've hurt me and my feelings," he strained, making sure he was acting extra dramatic.

"Oh shit, Nathaniel." She jumped off the washer and grabbed onto his arms. "Are you okay? I didn't expect that to hurt as much. It's either I'm really strong or you're incredibly weak, so-"

He dropped his free hand on her shoulder and nodded. " _ Thanks _ . I'm okay now."

Still holding his stomach, Nathaniel got up with the help of Chloe, who still had a tinge of pink on her cheeks. She continued to hold his arm, which was  _ super distracting _ in a sense that it was either he focused on the fading pain on his middle or her touch. 

_ Why is she still holding my arm??? _ He gulped, trying to calm his shaky breathing while ‘nonchalantly’ nodding his head.

“Oh!” She smiled, lifting her head. She clapped excitedly, which, unfortunately for him, was unbearably adorable. There was a twinkle in her eyes when she said to him, “We can go shopping at the little mall down the street!”

“Oh..!” he said, looking at the wall behind her and threaded a hand through his hair. He hunched and nodded, hoping his smile was convincing enough. “Uh..?”

“Oh," she faltered for a moment but sprang back. "Uh, y-you know what? Is Alix home? We can watch that show about making skateboards and erasers instead,” she smiled, her expression only changing once from happy to uncomfortable then back in a second.

He blinked.  _ She’s changing what she wants for… me? _ Shaking his head, he said, “Chloe, we can go shopping if you want-”

“No!” She jolted, causing him to still. She shook her hand in front of her. “I-I mean, it’s okay, Red, I’m trying to save money anyways. Besides, relaxing after a long week sounds better, don’t you think?”

Her smile, though obviously fake (_when was he able to sense that?_), was like sunshine: he really couldn’t refuse could he? 

“S-sure,” he smiled dazedly, letting her guide him out of the almost emptied laundry room to his apartment upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not gonna lie to you guys, but this chapter went through *so many changes* I literally could not complete it for a week ughhhh
> 
> But thanks for reading! I'm glad people are still enjoying this lol

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you want me to continue this? 
> 
> This came from an original oc story that i abandoned a long time ago and i still have the notebook with me so 0.0
> 
> Yeah! I hope you enjoyed! Kudos are highly appreciated!


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